Princess Crown Stuffed Peppers

I have to first mention that my first daughter is the epitome of girly-girl.  She loves everything pink and sparkly and having to do with princesses or fairies.  Now that you have this important background information, I can tell you about the success of this meal.  

I was making turkey and veggie stuffed peppers tonight and was wondering how I could make it more kid friendly.  Frankly, there isn't a cute, small pepper that you can use to reduce portion size and still make the presentation look spectacular (well, there are small peppers...they just happen to be rather spicy).  So while I was chopping off the tops of the peppers to take out the insides, I was hit with a lightbulb moment!  I must somehow use this "crown" part (b/c I would hate to just throw a perfectly good portion of this pepper away) as part of the kids' meals!  Well, when I took the top off, I was left with a donut shape (a whole where the stem had been), which I placed on a cookie sheet and piled the "stuffing" right into the center.  When I gave this to my daughter, she asked me what it was and I told her it was a "stuffed pepper crown!"  Needless to say, the name alone sold her.  Anything that has to do with crowns is a home run in her book...and who's to say that this top part of the pepper isn't called a crown?  :)   

Here's the recipe that I based this meal off of.  I made some changes as I always do.  I used Italian style ground turkey for some extra flavor, but then backed off of the Italian seasoning later on.  I also used some sort of flavored diced tomato only b/c it's what I had on hand. The recipe is chock-full of veggies and color...definitely give it a try!  http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Stuffed-Peppers-with-Turkey-and-Vegetables/Detail.aspx

Crown Stuffed Peppers - turkey and veggie stuffed peppers, yogurt, bananas   

Pinkalicious Shells

Since I have't posted consistently lately, I've decided to post dinner as well.  We had simple stuffed shells today...some shells dyed colors to please the girls (pink...E's favorite color).  Just put some dye in the water as the shells cook...instant food art!  To Eve, pink food is way better to eat.  And I say, "Hey, whatever works."  :)  Oh, and you might be able to see some orange color peaking out of the shell...it's chopped shoestring carrots that I added to the "stuffing"...b/c I add those carrots to just about anything and they barely even notice.

Pinkalicious - stuffed shells (with chopped shoestring carrots), salad, grapes

Sunny Skies Bento

First I have to apologize for my lack of posts lately.  We've had a couple of rough weeks, with busy end-of-year schedules, recitals, graduations, a broken down car, etc.  So I've really neglected the blog and I am sorry for that.  Now, on the other hand, we've had some extremely nice (really warm) weather these last few days, so we went with a fun in the sun themed lunch.  I admit that these are not homemade empanadas, but they are a quick lunch, and if you bake them, they're not as greasy.  We realized Eve liked these when we vacationed in Jamaica one winter.  She was at the height of her picky eating at that point, but for some reason really LOVED the veggie empanadas that they served.  So she ate a lot of them that week!  Anyhow, these are beef, so I probably should have added veggies to her lunch today, but eh, I went with the cupcake tops instead (yes, just two tops smooshed together with icing in between...kinda like a makeshift whoopie pie). I know what you're saying...not so healthy, but you've got mix some of these in sometimes.  :)

Sunny Lunch - Jamaica-inspired beef empanadas, tangerine slices, cheese "suns", and cupcake tops